INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts running back Kenton Keith was out of jail Monday after being arrested for refusing to leave a nightclub parking lot and yelling at officers that he was a Colts player who had done nothing wrong, police said.
Officers working security tried to clear a crowd from the parking lot of the Cloud 9 club after it closed at 3 a.m. Sunday. The 27-year-old Keith and several others refused to leave and were laughing, dancing and joking, police said.
....when is this guy ever gonna grow-up....too many players ...especially in the excited states, get all wrapped up in this type of off-field crap...throwing a bad light on their careers...Kenton...a very talented player.... with a problem of trying to ' keep his nose clean' :roll:
You might not care a whole hell of a lot, but you can bet your last dollar that Colts management cares. You don’t think they are aware of his track record when he played for the Riders? If he was the starting RB, he might have gotten away with a good talking to. Being the fringe player he is, he’s cut before the weekend. Once a punk, always a punk.
You might be right. Or you might be wrong. KK does need to find a way to avoid these types of incidents.
But as it is unclear what, if anything he has been charged with, let alone convicted, how this shakes out remains to be seen. His track record you speak of, is that he had charges against him summarily dismissed “due to a complete lack of evidence to support even going to trial”. This case sounds like it is in the vicinity of a misdemeanor—think parking tickets for an equivalent.
Compare that incident to the numerous other incidents that occur all the time in pro sports and the NFL, and it remains pretty minor. People have been murdered, and players still play…
Even compare the Thurman story, conveniently hidden in a link beside the KK story, which talks about Henry and Thurman. Compared to those guys, KK is a boy scout:
The comparison doesn’t hold true for the community of Indianapolis. For years, Pacers players have had these kinds of run-ins with the law, and it’s hurt the team’s bottom line. The Colts have made a tremendous effort to avoid these problems in the community. They’ve been very consistent in running off, or not resigning, players with such issues–Dom Rhodes, Darren Reid, Bashir Idrees, Omar Muhammed, etc.
The Colts have guarded their reputation as the “good guys” in town, and unless Keith is completely exonerated, he’s gone. It won’t help his case that he had hands of stone on several screen passes last season either!
Whether it was a minor incident or not. A professional athlete in today's NFL has to smart enough to not put himself in situations like this. The Colts and NFL are a business and every time a player gets arrested or has legal troubles it hurts their brand. All the team sees is their name on Sportscenter's bottom line associated with the word "arrested." That's how reputations like the Portland Jail Blazers start which hurt the team, it's fans, and makes it difficult to attract new fans to the team.
Kenton Keith got an opportunity of a lifetime last year, and he may have just blew it. Backups and fringe players aren't afforded multiple opportunities.
You have to be smarter, whether you just want to go out for a drink with your friends.
You just can't risk putting yourself in those situations.
Hey guys, figured there might be some talk about Keith on here.
For starters, I am not so sure about a misdemeanor, it might seem like it would be until you throw in the "delinquency of a minor" charge, he had a 19 year old with him at the club.
Who honestly knows though anymore, but as far as the Colts organization goes, with the pressure from Goodell about keeping your nose clean, I wouldn't be surprised that if this does develop into a deeper situation, Keith will most likely be gone.
Like you guys have said, hes a second stringer who dropped ALOT of critical passes throughout the season. He is a good back, but doesn't fit our system like we need him to, or at least he hasn't yet. I won't speak for the Colts though, I am a lowly fan lol
Anyways, theres a Colts fan/Indy native's 2 cents, with any risk taken you have the chance that things won't turn out well, its just a shame Keith doesn't appear to respect the opportunity he has.
Well, I have to say, misdemeanor or not, Keith acted pretty dumb. If a cop tells you to go home, you just go home. You don't stand there and argue with him and try and play the celebrity card.
But I'm a little curious about some of the comments on that board. Did Indy really think Keith was "the answer?" I thought Addai made it quite clear in his first season that he was the new Colts RB. I don't think Keith was ever going to be more than a back-up with Indy.
This isn't a major crime if in fact it continues to court at all. I agree it was stupid of Kenton to be caught in this situation given his limited status in the on the team. I don't know if it will hurt him that much.
One thing, folks, it was a underage male that was in attendance not a female. Don't make the story worse then it is.
Colts running back Kenton Keith was charged Tuesday with one count of criminal trespassing for refusing to leave a nightclub parking lot being cleared by police.
Keith will not face the charges of disorderly conduct, resisting law enforcement, public intoxication and contributing to the delinquency of a minor on which he was arrested early Sunday, said Matthew Symons, a spokesman for the Marion County prosecutor’s office.
I didn’t go through the whole 12 pages or whatever, but I thought the fan reaction was split. Which given the nature of that type of forum and this type of incident, that is pretty favourable for KK.
A lot of fans were just saying they think he didn’t play well enough, which is likely silly. If Indy burns a draft pick in the first 3 or maybe 4 rounds for a RB, then KK will have to compete for his job–regardless of this incident. If they do not draft a RB that high, then it means they are reasonably happy with KK.
Anyway, I’d be happy to have him back on the Riders.
So almost all the charges have been dropped and we are left with one rather minor charge, which will almost certainly result in, at worst, a misdemeanor conviction, ie., a fine of a few hundred bucks, maybe some community service.